Undeleted Sixteenth
by December
Summary: A late night viewing of videos on a laptop leads to more questions than answers. Really late flashfic for bsloths


Title:

_**This is an extremely late flashfic for bsloths. I'm sorry it's so late and not as memorable. And I did go in a slightly different direction than the prompt. Hopefully, everyone is in character, but if anyone's a little off, blame my execution, not my intent. So, am I forgiven?**_

_**The prompt and further author's notes are at the bottom. **_

Title: Undeleted Sixteenth

As she looked up at the clock, clutching her blue monkey, she quietly counted down the last seconds of this special anniversary. "Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One." She smiled as she closed her eyes. With all of the surprises that she'd had that day, it was time for a well-deserved rest. She'd sleep for hours, she knew.

Or, at least that was what she thought. She hadn't taken her curious nature into consideration, it seemed, because an hour later she was wide awake. She could still hear him saying, "It goes on for awhile and some of the tributes get a little pukey." Did he mean "pukey" as in sweet and touching? Or "pukey" as in with actual puke? She had to know, which meant she had to watch the rest of the tribute video.

She ended up having to buzz a nurse for help. She was a little embarrassed about that, but there was no way she could reach the tray, much less the laptop on top of it. As she turned on the laptop, she worried that Derek would have some password on it; one she wouldn't know, but, surprisingly, there was no password. Finding the video of her surprise party rather easily, she pushed play and sat back to watch the beginning again.

"Hey. Welcome to Casey McDonald's surprise sixteenth birthday," Derek's voice led off the commentary. First up, in terms of tributes, was Emily. Casey smiled at Em's apology – raising her eyebrows at Emily sharing that it was a great party. Casey wished she could have heard the rest of Em's speech about being happy to have her as a best friend, but Derek was in control of the camera. Casey had to wonder if the sudden shift away from Emily (even though she clearly wasn't finished) was just to mess with her – until Casey realized that Emily had been about to cry. Derek still really couldn't do tears.

Next was the shot of the hockey team. Now this, more than anything, was proof that this was more Derek's party than hers. He invited the hockey team. The entire team. Sure, Casey had dated Sam, so if Sam had been invited that would have made sense. But the entire team? She wasn't currently dating anyone on the team, and she wasn't exactly a huge fan of hockey.

She laughed as the hockey goalie checked out her picture and then made eyes at the camera, "Well, happy birthday, Casey." It was just so over the top, she couldn't take it seriously.

Where had Derek gotten that picture of her, anyway? How much effort had he put into this party? Casey knew it was a party for him – it had to be – but getting the picture blown up like that? That takes some time.

She shook her head as the hockey team and football team seemed to have an impromptu competition over which team could shout "Casey, Casey, Casey" with more energy and volume. Surprisingly enough, if asked, Casey would have to say the hockey team won, which seems wrong in some way, as the football team did have her supposed boyfriend to help cheer them on. She didn't see Sam in the shot of the hockey team, so it's not even like her ex and now good friend helped rev the hockey team up. Maybe it was the presence of the camera? Or the presence of their captain and resident hockey god (although, she'd never admit to even thinking the latter to Derek) holding the camera and taping the tribute that pushed their cheering over the edge?

Maybe she was over thinking things again.

She shook her head at the pick-up line uttered by the goalie as part of the tribute. Did that actually work for him?

This was the point where Derek stopped the video when he first showed it to her, so Casey leaned a little forward and started to pay attention. By this point, Derek had moved on but not before she heard him say, "Hey, hey. No hitting on my step-sister through video tributes."

Casey blinked as the camera panned the packed room and all of the decorations and people. It was strange, in a way. The reason Derek gave for people not to hit on Casey was not that she wasn't single, which should be the obvious reason. No, the reason he gave for people to back off of Casey was his, Derek's, relationship with Casey, not Max's relationship with Casey. It was also odd that this far into the tribute video and Max hadn't tried to get on camera to say anything.

Casey shook her head at the next three tributes from people who obviously had no idea who she was. There was the girl who kept trying to flirt with Derek as he was taping. "Oh, what a sweet thing to do for your sister!" she cooed

Casey ignored the fact that she added "step" in the same tone at the same time the Derek in the video did.

Next there was the couple who seemed more interested in groping each other, either for or in spite of the camera, than saying anything to Casey. Casey laughed out loud when she heard him say in the background of the video that someone needed to throw some cold water on those two so that they would calm down.

Finally, there was the guy who had shown up drunk. He was weaving back and forth and wasn't making too much sense. About the time Derek finally got him to string together words that made sense, all he got out was "Hap - Pee Birfday, C-" before whatever he had eaten earlier decided to make an encore appearance.

"So, pukey as in with real puke. Oh, ew!" Casey whispered.

Even though random drunken guy did bring the video down a bit, he wouldn't have ruined it. Luckily, the next tribute came from a familiar face, as he was just walking into Smelly Nellie's after the whole puke fest.

"Sam," Derek's voice said from behind the camera. "What took you so long to get here?"

"Sorry, D," Sam shared as he shrugged out of his coat. "Remember the family that I said was in town to visit? Got pulled into a conversation with my uncle. About sequels and movie remakes, of all things. I never knew someone could go on and on about the upcoming fourth Indiana Jones movie. Uncle Steve is one bitter man."

"Okay….well, smile at the camera and wish Casey a happy sixteenth."

"I can't actually give my wish to the birthday girl in person?" Sam asked.

The camera moved as if Derek shrugged. "Only if you want to visit her in the hospital tomorrow."

"Hospital?" Sam's eyes widened. "Is Casey okay?"

"She's fine. Just needed emergency surgery to have her appendix removed."

"Wait, and you went on with the party?" Sam asked, clearly shocked.

"I know. Shame she couldn't make it. Hence the vid. So, wanna say something to Casey?"

Sam shook his head briefly before looking directly into the camera. "Happy Birthday, Casey. I'm sorry to hear about the surgery, but I hope you get better soon. And – if you need me to sit on this fool while you beat him up after you are feeling better, just call."

"Hey, hey. Why the violence?" Derek's voice asked but by then, Sam had seen Emily need the back and moved on to talk to her.

The middle twenty minutes of the tribute video wasn't super exciting. A few more people puked. The hockey goalie tried to pick her up again. There was a cake eating contest in there, as well. She wondered who was responsible for the cake. Maybe Emily? Whoever it was knew her favorite flower, as it was decorating the cake instead of roses.

This party of Derek's really did have some things Casey would have appreciated, which was a surprise itself. Maybe Emily's intervention? But Em couldn't have thought of all of the thoughtful pieces, could she?

At one point in the middle the camera panned the crowd and stopped on a familiar face. It couldn't be..?

"Emily," Derek's voice called from behind the camera.

"What?"

"Come over here."

"Fine," after a sigh and some footsteps, Emily's voice became louder, indicating that she was probably directly off screen. "What is it?"

"Is that," Derek began quietly as the camera focused in on a red-headed young man, "who I think it is?"

"Oh My God," Emily's voice replied in shock. "That's Tinker! Did you invite him?"

"No! I have a rep to uphold, after all," Derek replied. "Did you?"

"No," from Emily, "Wouldn't have done that to Casey in a million years."

"So, how did he find out about it?"

"Derek," Emily sighed as she stepped in front of the camera. "This party was pretty much an open secret by the end of the school day today. Which I am so sorry about Casey. I just wasn't thinking!," Emily took a deep breath before continuing, "But Tinker finding out? He could have heard it from anywhere and just shown up. So what do we do now?"

"Nothing," Derek's voice said from behind the camera. "Absolutely nothing."

"We probably should ask him to say something on the video for Casey at least."

"No, uh-uh. We'll just quietly move away and hope he doesn't see us."

As the camera slowly changed focus, Casey had to shake her head. She was almost a little glad to have been in the hospital and missed the party. If the tons of guests wouldn't have sent her running into the bathroom crying, Tinker's presence might have sent her in the bathroom to hide. In part because she was a little embarrassed by how she had used him to get back at Derek in the past.

Hmm. She and Derek did tend to cause a lot of collateral damage.

Tinker wasn't the only surprise guest actually. And this scene from the party both made her night and proved that Derek didn't have the time to edit anything. Because, he if he had editorial control, there is no way she would have ever seen what happened.

For some reason, by this point in the party, Derek had passed the camera over to Emily. This was a great show of trust on his part, given how Derek was about his camera, but he had seen Emily's work before with that almost disaster of a Sociology project. Whatever the reason, Emily had the camera; it was her quick skills that got the shot.

Derek was near the back of the restaurant, talking to someone on the hockey team about something – possibly asking for help with the last puker – without looking behind him as he backed up. If he had, he would have noticed Clink and his blonde date directly behind him. Derek might have also noticed that the blonde was waving around a Slurpee while she was making a point. But he didn't, and said Slurpee ended up on Derek's head.

"Oh crap. Cold. Cold." Derek muttered as he tried to take the cup off of his head.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," A familiar voice said as she turned around.

'Kendra?' Casey thought, surprised that she was there.

"Kendra?" Derek asked, "What are you doing here?"

Kendra shrugged, "Clink brought me. What are you doing here?"

"Hosting," Derek replied. "Kendra, do you even know why I'm having this party?"

"Not really," the blonde replied. "The buzz around school was this was the place to be tonight. I didn't hear why."

"This," Derek's teeth were beginning to chatter now, "is Casey's sixteenth birthday party."

"Really?" Kendra asked as she started to peer through the crowd. "Is she here?"

"D," Sam's voice was heard as he walked into the frame, "whoa, what happened?"

"Got some kind of slushee dumped on my head."

"I'm really sorry about that," Kendra repeated.

"Kendra? So, you did this?" Sam asked.

"Accidentally, but yeah."

Sam shook his head. "Well, D. We should at least try to clean you up a bit."

"You think?" was Derek's reply as Sam walked him off.

Casey was still chuckling at the sight of Derek with flavored ice in his hair – which explained the hat he had been wearing when he had come to visit that evening – but Emily had decided it was important to get Kendra on tape. "Hey, Kendra."

"Oh, hi Emily. What's with the camera?"

"Everyone's taping a birthday message for Casey. Did you want to leave one?"

"Um, sure I guess," Kendra answered, "but I should also say something in person, right? Is she here?"

"Uh…not at the moment. But she'll get to see everything on the tape."

"Okay then. Well, happy birthday Casey. Hope this birthday is great. And, we should get together soon."

A lot of the tributes were short like that. A few of her friends from the Debate team were there, and they did a cute little thing for her about debating the pros and cons of celebrating a sixteenth birthday. The hockey goalie tried to hit on her again through the camera. The football team was having some sort of duck eating contest in the back. It was a rather strange party.

What was even stranger was watching Derek send people home at 10:30. He wasn't the only one who thought that was strange, as Sam, Max, and Emily surrounded him after Derek made the announcement. At this point, the "director" was back behind the camera, so Casey could only hear him, while she could see her boyfriend and her two friends.

"Why are you ending the party this early?" Max asked

"Because, we've all got places to go, people to see, and I have to do some cleaning before I can lock up."

"But this is still really early," Emily shared. "I mean, Sam and I can stick around for clean up, if that's the cause of the rush, but –"

"Thanks for that Emily, but honestly, I need to get to the hospital to give Casey evidence of her gift, and she should be getting out of surgery soon. Besides, what would her day be without me?"

"Peaceful?" Sam offered

"Wait, what do you mean, evidence of her gift?" Emily asked

"Well, Casey should see some of the footage from her party right?" Derek's voice asked.

"Well, yes but-" Emily stopped suddenly, her eyes narrowing. "Wait. Are you saying this party is your gift?! Are you serious? First, it wasn't even a party for her – not really. Second, Max and I – okay, more like I - paid for most of decorations. Third, you continued to throw the party without her, even though it was her party and she was having emergency surgery. And-"

"Calm down, Emily," Derek replied. "The video's the gift. I'm more than happy to let Casey blame you for the party. Beside, I'm assuming the boyfriend has a gift to deliver to Casey."

"Crap," Max whispered.

"Wait, you do have a gift for Casey, right Max?" Casey blinked a little at Derek's tone. Sometime was off there. Derek wouldn't be angry that Max hadn't gotten a gift for her. Amused probably, but not angry. But, for a moment, Derek had kinda sounded angry.

"So, we'll stop at a drug store on the way. I'll help clear people out," Max said as he quickly rushed away.

At this point, Derek muttered something that Casey couldn't quite make out. Then the camera was lifted out of Derek's hands and turned on him by Sam. "Speaking of gifts," Sam's voice began, "you haven't done your tribute yet. Anything you want to say to the birthday girl?"

"Ha. Ha. Cute, Sam. I'm the director, not a lowly actor. Now turn the camera off and come on," Derek said as he pushed by his friend and headed toward the restaurant's kitchen.

Sam did follow Derek to the kitchen, but didn't turn off the camera. "Derek, come on. Casey is in the hospital. You threw her a surprise party she wasn't expecting full of a lot of your friends-"

"And some random people," Derek insisted facing away from the camera. As if random people being present somehow absolved him from any guilt.

"Okay, yeah," Sam agreed. "But you do owe her a few words at least. I mean, you being at her party while she's under the knife probably doesn't seem very fair to her right now."

"Just drop it, Sam," Derek growled as he leveled a look at the camera.

Honestly, that look would have actually gotten Casey to comply. It looked like Derek was reacting to being pushed in a corner. Sam did put the camera down, but he didn't cut it off. So while the only video that showed for the next few minutes was of one of the Smelly Nellie's stoves, Casey still heard all of the audio.

"You actually are worried about her, aren't you?"

"Worried? Who says I'm worried?" Derek replied in a slightly higher voice than normal. After clearing his throat a few times, Derek continued, "I'm just trying to be a good party host, is all."

"Uh-uh, D," Sam replied. "This is me. No bullshit. Now, why go on with the party and the video shoot? Why aren't you at the hospital?"

"I don't do hospitals," Derek tried to bluff. But in the silence he finally said. "Look, Sam. She just looked so afraid and pale on the way out. It was a little scary. I mentioned the party, only because Nora asked me to cancel…and then I might have rubbed the party in a bit."

"Why?"

"Because. Well, she got angry for a second there. And we know I live to make Casey angry-"

"D."

"And she had some color in her face and something else to focus on besides scary surgery, alright?!" Derek shouted in response. "Taking her mind off of being rushed to the hospital was the only gift I was capable of giving her, okay? But the idea of the party is only going to work for so long."

"I get it," Sam said after a pause. "The party video is to keep her mind off of things while she recovers."

"Yeah. And getting that football captain in to see her. "

"Huh. And you thought this all through?"

"I don't know if I would have used the word 'thought'" Derek replied.

"Well, I guess I better help you finish up here. You have gifts to deliver after all."

As the screen went black, signifying the end, Casey found her mind racing. He was purposely bragging about the party so she would be mad at him and not scared? Well that definitely worked because she was very mad at him before and after her surgery. And the video was to help keep her mind off of things, too? It was all so strangely….sweet. In a self-centered, Derek Venturi way, but still. And, it almost sounded like he was worried about her.

Now she knew she was reading too much into things.

Looking at the laptop, she wondered what other videos were stored on there. She needed something to help her sleep. All the questions raised in her birthday video would keep her up all night if she didn't find something else to distract herself.

After some searching, she found a few other videos on the laptop. She decided to stay from the one called "Horror Fest". She decided she was better off not knowing. There was one called "CM". She tried to open that one, realizing that, among other things, CM were her initials. Oddly enough, that video was password protected. Finally, there was a video called "soul clips". Curious, Casey opened that video.

For the next forty or so minutes Casey watched the most random collection of out-takes she'd ever seen. Most she hadn't seen before, like the Marti purple fashion show, complete with her monkey sporting a purple shirt in one shot, while his owner was decked out in head to toe purple. Or footage of that goal Lizzie had scored in her last soccer game. Or, Edwin in an Edwerido stunt gone horribly wrong, where Ed ended up tumbling down the attic stairs and landing in a heap on the second floor.

Casey did feel a little guilty about giggling at Edwin's, "Don't worry. I'm fine. I think I'll just rest here for a bit." But obviously, Edwin was perfect okay now, so it didn't matter.

The video also had other interesting pieces. There was a shot of George complaining about some parking ticket. There was a shot of Mom cooking while humming some random song. There was a shot of a nervous Abby before one of her talks that Derek must have taped for her. There was a clip from D-Rock at the Battle of the Bands, although Casey wasn't sure how Derek had gotten that, since he obviously didn't tape it. There was the now infamous shot of Derek making out with Icky Vicky – which still prompted an "Ew" from Casey. But the other outtakes on the video were strange…because they were all of Casey.

There was a shot of Casey flossing, which Casey was still annoyed existed. There were shots of Casey rushing around the house. Shots of Casey dancing. Shots of Casey helping her mother with dinner. Embarrassing shots. Sweet shots. Good lord, how much had Derek filmed her, actually?

At the end of the montage was a clip from a television interview of one of Derek's favorite independent directors. "I think," the young man began, "that outtakes are insight into a director's soul. The finished movie is the product of negotiations between the studio, the director, the actor, and the writers. What ends up in the cutting room floor, what the director thought enough of to film and print but what didn't make the negotiation cut – that's where you see the director's vision, the director's heart. Including deleted scenes is a way a director says to the audience, 'This is what was important to me…but let's keep it a secret from the suits, okay?' You should always pay attention to deleted scenes. The director is usually trying to tell you something."

As the screen went black for the second time tonight, Casey leaned against her pillows. She was a little confused. That ending clip implied that Derek saved all of those cut shots for a reason. But why? Admittedly, for the most part, they did show people important to him. George, Marti, Abby, Nora…even Lizzie and Edwin were there. D-Rock showed up, so Derek's two best friends were there – as well as his questionable guitar playing skills. But the presence of her and Vicky in the collection made no sense. Casey assumed that Derek thought the kiss must have been fun – which immediately made Casey feel nauseous – but that still didn't-

"Wait," Casey breathed as she reopened the video. Fast-fowarding through the first part and stopping before the Icky Vicky spit swamping, she noticed a clip of her in the same dress she had loaned Victoria that day. Casey's hair had been pulled back that day and she was annoyed about something – as her annoyance clearly showed on her face.

Up until that moment, Casey hadn't really seen how much she and Vicky looked alike. But in that shot she looked a lot like her cousin. But why have that shot before the make-out shot? If Casey hadn't known better, she would have thought that it was the same girl in both clips.

In other words, Casey would have thought it was she making out on the washing machine with Derek. But why would Derek want to leave anyone with that impression? And it had to be deliberate – Derek was clearly the one that put the montage together. What was he saying?

Her mind was racing, but the pain medication was also kicking in. As Casey drifted off to sleep for the second time, she thought as she hugged her blue monkey, "What secret were you trying to tell me, Derek? What surprise do you have in store for me now?"

- the end -

_**I'm so sorry this was late…and not that good on top of that. In addition, I don't think I managed to fit in the horseshoe at all. Anyway, the prompt is below. Thanks for your patience…and I hope this was a little fun at least. It is a slightly different ending to "Not So Sweet Sixteen", after all.**_

_**The Prompt**_

_**3. Write an alternate Daseyfied ending to any of these Season 3 episodes: Rumour Mill, Not So Sweet Sixteen, or Allergy Season. You must include them making out on the washing machine, Marti wearing purple, Edwin falling down the stairs from his bedroom to the second floor (you decide how serious the injury is), Kendra dumping a Slurpee on Derek's head (yes, even if you pick NSSS or AS), a horseshoe, a mention of **__**Indiana Jones 4**__**, and George getting a parking ticket. Oh, and put a scene from the episode at the beginning so we know which one you picked, but don't tell us the title- let us figure it out. Dasey, of course!**_


End file.
